James Shapiro on Manifest Destiny

Last month I strongly recommended the latest book by the Shakespeare scholar James Shapiro, Shakespeare in a Divided America. That book is full of extraordinary stories: Shapiro makes you understand how intimately the great playwright and the great continent are connected.

A recent podcast interview by Peter Moore from Travels from Time concentrates on one year, 1845 (of course, Shapiro has written book-length studies of 1599 and 1606), including two extraordinary stories: Ulysses S. Grant’s casting as Desdemona and Charlotte Cushman’s performance as Romeo.

As Shapiro states, ‘I do believe right now, between Black Lives Matter, and Coronavirus, and elections that are so consequential in my country that we are living through as Shakespearian a moment as I have ever lived through.’

It’s a great listen, and there are accompanying shownotes and illustrations.